Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-03-22

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] European Court gives EU Commission extension in OA case

[02] Rising concern in Greek gov't over Iraq, Turkey's incursion

[03] Foreign ministry braces for wave of refugees from Iraq

[04] European left-wing parties denounce Iraq war after Athens meeting

[05] Weather Forecast: Rain and sleet and snow on Sunday

[06] Opposition to Iraq war continues unabated in Greece

[07] Weather Forecast: Clouds, rain, falling temperatures on Saturday

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[09] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

[01] European Court gives EU Commission extension in OA case

The Luxembourg-based European Court on Saturday agreed to give the European Commission an extension until June 25 to prepare its response to the evidence submitted by Olympic Airways, which has been accused of the Commission of financial irregularities.

OA is challenging a European Commission order that it must return 194 million euros in illegal state subsidies that it allegedly received from the Greek state since 1998.

[02] Rising concern in Greek gov't over Iraq, Turkey's incursion

Concern over events in Iraq was mounting within the Greek government on Saturday, particularly over the incursion of Turkish troops into the north of the country.

In statements to the state-run television channel NET, government spokesman Christos Protopapas said that Prime Minister Costas Simitis, current head of the European Council, was constantly monitoring developments in Iraq since his return from Brussels on Friday night, while the foreign and defence ministries were on high alert and holding continuous meetings.

The spokesman reiterated that Athens was strongly opposed to the war and to Turkey's efforts to 'enter' north Iraq, which he said the government was watching closely.

He dismissed Ankara's claim that it was trying to prevent the entry of a wave of refugees into Turkey as ''not convincing'' and said that it ''hid something else''.

Protopapas also stressed a resolution by European Union leaders that called for the protection of Iraq's territorial integrity after the war and warned that ''no one should be under the illusion that they will receive some part.''

He announced that the prime minister would be departing for a one-day visit to Brussels on Wednesday in order to brief the European Parliament on the results of the EU informal summit on Thursday and Friday and the latest developments in Iraq.

Meanwhile, Simitis had contacted Greek Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis and asked him to call a special session of Parliament on Thursday, in which the premier will inform MPs on the summit results and Iraq.

[03] Foreign ministry braces for wave of refugees from Iraq

Staff at the Greek foreign ministry were busy deliberating on Saturday about the humanitarian problems that will arise due to the war in Iraq, during a meeting chaired by Foreign Minister George Papandreou to assess the situation and make plans for dealing with waves of refugees fleeing the war.

Responding to questions about Turkey's incursion into northern Iraq, Papandreou expressed his opposition to the involvement of ''any country that borders on Iraq'' in the war and noted the European Union's willingness to help Turkey with the refugees displaced by the hostilities.

Papandreou noted that a plan for offering humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people had been drawn up and he invited non-governmental organisations to cooperate in dealing with the problem.

He also announced that there was constant contact and close coordination between the Greek presidency, EU Commissioner for External Affairs Chris Patten and EU Common Foreign Policy and Defence Policy coordinator Javier Solana so that the '15' EU member-states and the 10 countries due to join the Union in April could contribute to this effort.

In addition, there was close contact with Arab countries, the Arab League and members of the United Nations Security Council, he said.

[04] European left-wing parties denounce Iraq war after Athens meeting

European left-wing parties represented at a meeting organised in Athens by the Coalition of the Left and Progress party, on Saturday denounced the war launched on Iraq by the United States and Britain, expressing their horror at the intensifying attacks.

In a joint appeal they rejected and decried the doctrine of pre-emptive war, warning of the dangers for the Middle East and pointing to the long-suffering Iraqi people, especially non-combatants and children, who now faced a new and unprecedented slaughter on top of the heavy toll taken by successive wars, the international embargo and the cruel dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Participants included the Cypriot party AKEL, the French Communist Party, the Spanish United Left party, Germany's Democratic Socialism party, the Italian Communist Refoundation party and Greece's Coalition of the Left.

[05] Weather Forecast: Rain and sleet and snow on Sunday

Cloudy weather is forecast throughout the country on Sunday, with showers, sleet and storms driving across south, west and central parts of the country, turning to snow in Macedonia, Thessaly and higher altitudes, locally intense in central Greece and the Peloponnese. The weather will improve in the northwest later in the day. Winds east, northeasterly, moderate to strong, rising to very strong in the east and gale force in the Aegean. Temperatures between -4C and 4C in the north, 0C and 11C in the Ionian and mainland, 4C and 13C in the Aegean. Temperatures in Athens between 4C and 10C; and in Thessaloniki from -1C to 4C.

[06] Opposition to Iraq war continues unabated in Greece

As the ''pre-emptive war'' waged on Iraq by the United States and Britain continued for the third day, opposition from the public and political parties in Greece showed no sign of lessening as thousands took to the streets in protest throughout the country.

For the third day in a row, the U.S. Embassy in Athens found itself besieged by crowds shouting for an end to the war and the capital was choked with demonstrations and protest marches.

A rally organised by the Greek Social Forum, the ''Stop the War'' Alliance, left-wing progressive organisations, high-school children and students kicked off at midday in Syntagma Square, before setting off on a march to the U.S. Embassy.

Among the many peace groups and students in the march was 'cyclist for peace' Aggelos Voulodimos, who set off on his bicycle from Kavala eight days ago with the message ''A human shield for Iraq. The only and last word of civilised peoples'.

Further down at Propylaia, the gates to the Acropolis, a rally comprised of workers, pensioners and students organised by the Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI), the Communist-party-affiliated trade union faction PAME and other trade union organisations was being urged to ''stop the crime of war and our country's involvement in it''.

In the northern city of Thessaloniki, protestors camped outside the U.S. Consulate until 18:00, keeping Tsimiski Road closed for more than three and half hours, as they shouted for the release of two marchers arrested in a scuffle with police earlier in the day. The two were eventually set free after appearing before a public prosecutor, whereupon the protestors departed.

Three separate anti-war rallies and marches were held in the city on Saturday, one organised by ''Action: Thessaloniki 2003'', PAME and EDYETH at 11:00, a second organised by EDOTH and the Greek Social Forum at 13:30 and a third beginning at about the same time organised by the ''Thessaloniki 2003 Struggle Initiative'' and ''Thessaloniki Resistance 2003''.

The first rally marched to the U.S. Consulate and then on to the British Consulate, while the other two marches met and ended at the U.S. Consulate.

As on Thursday and Friday, protest marches took place in other Greek cities, including Patras, Iraklio and Kavala, while a symbolic picket was set up outside the Araxos airport for one hour.

In an announcement on Saturday, Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos denounced the U.S.-led bombing campaign in Iraq, saying that ''Baghdad is in flames and is being flattened by thousands of ''smart'' bombs in the hands of cynical and idiotic military leaders wearing the mantle of liberators.''

He also criticised the stance adopted by Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis as president of the European Council during the informal EU summit in Brussels, accusing him of ''choices that were beneath the historic occasion''.

DHKKI leader Dimitris Tsovolas similarly denounced US and British ''indifference for the lives of innocent Iraqi civilians'' and called on the Greek government to shut down the U.S. base in Souda and stop providing any form of facility either at sea or in the air to the U.S.-led campaign.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka Papariga told a rally of demonstrators that unless the war against Iraq was stopped, Iraq would end up with an American regime under a military governor and a government controlled by the United States, while Europe would stand by fighting over a share of the spoils.

''We must not stop (opposing the war)...other countries will be next,'' she warned darkly.

Veteran communist leader Harilaos Florakis predicted that the Iraq war might be the death knell of the United States, similar to the victorious wars that ultimately led to the breakdown of great empires of the past, such as Rome or the Byzantium.

In a highly emotional tirade against U.S. President George Bush earlier on Saturday, meanwhile, noted Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis compared the American president to Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and Hitler and said the attack on Baghdad had ''destroyed my image of the United States as a civilised country''.

''The hate of ordinary people throughout the world must rise like a huge wave and engulf them in shame,'' the composer concluded.

[07] Weather Forecast: Clouds, rain, falling temperatures on Saturday

Cloudy weather with light rain is forecast in eastern parts of the country, including the Cyclades island and northern Crete, on Saturday with scattered cloud in the rest of the country. Clouds will thicken in the west from the afternoon, with showers, snow on high ground and possible storms in the Ionian Sea. Winds easterly, southeasterly, moderate in the west, north northeasterly, strong to very strong in the east. Temperatures in Athens between 4C and 10C; and in Thessaloniki from -1C to 4C.

[08] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.065

Pound sterling 0.681

Danish kroner 7.487

Swedish kroner 9.237

Japanese yen 128.8

Swiss franc 1.487

Norwegian kroner 7.924

Cyprus pound 0.588

Canadian dollar 1.577

Australian dollar 1.797

[09] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

Scattered cloud is forecast in all parts of the country, turning to showers in Macedonia an Thrace from afternoon with snow on high ground. The rain will spread to Thessaly, the eastern central mainland, Evia and the north Aegean islands. Winds northerly, light to moderate, turning strong later in the day. In the north, temperatures will range from -2C to 12C; in the west and on the rest of the mainland from 2C to 17C; and in the Aegean from 6C to 16C. Temperatures in Athens between 4C and 16C; and in Thessaloniki from 2C to 11C.

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